Keith Tolsen – Darlington

June 2017

Darlington man downloaded indecent images of children

A PERVERT caught for the second time with indecent images of children has avoided a jail sentence – for a second time.

Darlington man Keith Tolsen was told by a judge that he would never get the help he needs behind bars and both he and the community would be better off if he was not locked up.

Tolsen was given a 12-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, with 35 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement, instead of immediate custody.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told him: “There are potentially some signs of you appreciating the problem you have.

“This offending is not without victims. The victims are those children who are forced to carry out the acts which are now portrayed in these images.

“They are forced into that activity for people like you, for your own interests.

“There is no risk, in my judgement, of you actually posing a serious risk of direct harm to children.

“Of course, you pose a risk of harm by watching the images you do.”

The court heard that police raided Tolsen’s former home in Alverton Drive, Darlington, in November 2015 after receiving information that devices linked to the house had been downloading indecent images.

A woman at the property said she had been in a relationship with Tolsen, but he had left four weeks earlier.

Officers traced him to another address, said prosecutor Rachel Masters, where his laptop and mobile phone were seized – showing 23 still and moving pictures of abuse.

In an interview, the 55-year-old said other people had access to his computer, and they may have been responsible for downloading the filth.

In 2009, Tolsen was given a 36-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, for possessing indecent images of children, and distributing them.